China’s envoy to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, spoke forcefully on Wednesday against Israel’s plan to annex large swaths of the occupied West Bank, during a UN Security Council meeting.
China strongly protested Israel’s ‘unilateral actions’ and escalation of the conflict.
China is “deeply concerned about reports of the (Israeli) plan to annex part of the occupied Palestinian territory,” Ambassador Jun told the Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East.
#Gaza Women Rally against #Annexation (PHOTOS) https://t.co/dwxYCtxzna via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/qHww1tFKp2
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 22, 2020
“Such a plan, if implemented, will seriously violate international law and relevant UN resolutions, and imperil the two-state solution,” Jun added, urging “the relevant party to refrain from taking any unilateral actions, and do its best to de-escalate conflict and tension.”
He restated China’s “firm position that no country should support unilateral actions,” insisting that “it is equally imperative to stop settlement activities, the demolition of Palestinian structures, and the violence against civilians.”
Jun cited Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that China, “a sincere friend of the Palestinian people,” supports the Palestinian call for internationally-mediated negotiations and is willing to consider taking part in them.
Attending the @UNRWA Pledging Conference, Amb Zhang Jun
announced US$1 million contribution to UNRWA
— Chinese Mission to UN (@Chinamission2un) June 23, 2020
“The Palestinian people can always count on China’s support to their just cause to restore legitimate national rights,” Jun said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex nearly 30 percent of the total size of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Jordan Valley, an act deemed a stark violation of international law.
Although annexation didn’t actualize on July 1, a self-imposed deadline by Netanyahu himself, Israel remains adamant in its intentions to formalize the annexation of large swaths of Palestinian land.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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